An internal memo apparently informed Tesla employees that the company was planning to put its robotaxis, with drivers behind the wheel, on the streets of San Francisco this weekend — but do they even have a permit for this?

Since June, Tesla has been testing its Robotaxi fleet in Austin with human operaters capable of shutting off the cars in the passenger seat. This testing phase has yielded some odd and potentially dangerous behaviors with the LiDAR-free robocars, but nevertheless, Musk announced on Xitter two weeks ago that the cars would be starting testing in the Bay Area "in a month or two."

That announcement sparked some confusion, because Tesla has not yet obtained the permits necessary to do any autonomous vehicle testing in California, let alone pick up any paying passengers — Texas is still a few months shy of its own auonomous vehicle law going into effect, and thus Tesla is operating almost regulation-free there for the moment.

But as Business Insider reports, Elon Musk seems to be forging ahead, permits be damned, and an internal memo told employees that Tesla's Robotaxi service would be launching in San Francisco as early as today, Friday, with some Tesla owners receiving invitations to start using the service.

A spokesperson for California DMV apparently told Business Insider that Tesla had recently met with the agency, but that no application has even gone in for autonomous vehicle deployment. The company does, however, currently have a permit to test autonomous vehicles with drivers behind the wheel, and the California Public Utilities Commission has granted them a permit to provide a "transportation service" to employees, but not to the general public.

Musk reportedly said during a Wednesday earnings call that Tesla was in the process of seeking regulatory approvals for its autonomous taxis in California.

The autonomous taxis, which Tesla has branded with the name "Robotaxi," are modified Model Ys with extra cameras and sensors, and a second telecommunications unit. Industry experts have questioned whether Tesla's "full self-driving" software, along with these visual sensors, are enough for safe autonomous driving, given that the cars do not utilize the LiDAR technology that is being used by competitors Waymo and Zoox.

So, will we suddenly see Tesla Robotaxis on the streets of SF this weekend? Will this be another showdown with the California DMV like Uber had back in 2016? We shall see.

Previously: Musk Threatens to Bring Tesla's LiDAR-Free Robotaxis to Bay Area Within Months